Big Girl Bed Hijinks

We decided it was time to transition Ellie out of her crib and into a big girl bed around New Years. The whole transition went surprisingly well. After all the worrying we did about what the rules would be and how we'd enforce them, she adjusted almost immediately and we've never had to really lay down the law at all. Kind of a let down, almost. I'm not complaining.

At first we found her in all kinds of crazy positions, but eventually she's settled in to sleeping like a regular human, head on the pillow, blanket on, that sort of thing.

What she does do, though, is sneak out of bed and grab things to take back to bed with her. I've caught her in the act. She must plan out what she's going for before getting out of bed because she quickly runs and grabs what she wants, then runs and jumps back into bed. It's hilarious.

She started just grabbing some stuffed animals and an occasional purse or two.

{Muno, Cat in the Hat, Elmo, Cookie Monster, and Beeker}

Then she went through a long phase of putting shoes on. Flip flops, crocks, slippers, dress shoes, but always matching pairs (not always on the right feet).

Eventually we moved the shoes out of her room. So, she started grabbing books, we'd find 4 or 5 books in there with her some nights. Then things got really quiet for awhile, and we kind of thought she was over getting up and grabbing random things. Then we found her the other night like this:

Not over it.

However, she does seem to be over "ninny." We told her last night ninny was gone. There were some big tears, but they didn't last long. Tonight she asked for ninny, we told her it was gone, and that was that. Kind of sad to see that vestige of her babyhood go. Again, I'm not complaining.

Catch up. Again.

Um, been awhile again. I did get pictures in those empty frames at least.

Ellie started preschool! We have a little daycare here at work that take children over 2, so once she turned two and they had an opening we got her in. It took some adjusting, but she seems to have settled in pretty well. Didn't even notice me leave this morning.

As referenced above, Ellie turned 2. It was another marathon birthday celebration. She's talking and singing nonstop, it's a lot of fun to hear what comes out of her mouth.

She made an adorable Foofa for Halloween. And Pete made a pretty mean DJ Lance Rock.

We had our kitchen completely dismantled last century and it is slowly coming back together.

My dad and step-mom came to visit at the beginning of November, and my mom and step-dad were here for now annual Thanksgiving visit last week. Both visits were a lot of fun, especially since Ellie is starting to learn what "grandma" and "grandpa" mean.

And now we're working on getting in the holiday spirit, welcome to December!

The Adventure of the New Crib

Ellie's crib, the one she's slept in every night since she out-grew her cradle, was recalled. New furniture usually makes me giddy, but this time the idea of getting something new was kind of bitter-sweet.

Like most expectant parents, we spent quite a bit of time agonizing over what crib to get. And there were about a million options. Expensive or cheap? Fancy or simple? Light or dark wood? Or painted? Drop side or not? Just a crib or convertible to a toddler bed? We decided on middle of the road, simple and understated, not expensive but not the cheapest we could find. And we loved it.

{her first night in the crib}

The first time she smiled when I came in to get her in the morning was in this crib. She found her feet, went from a back-sleeper to a belly-sleeper, and discovered she could sit up, then stand up, in this crib.

Even though the recall was for something silly, we decided it wasn't worth keeping a potentially (no matter how slight) dangerous crib. So, it was off to Babies 'R Us to look for a suitable replacement. After a second round of agonizing, a selection was made. They didn't have the one we wanted in stock so it was back to BRU a week later to pick it up.

{such a helpful child}

Things we like: the darker wood and more modern design fits in a little better with the furniture we've shoved into her room. The lowest setting is a little lower making that much harder for her to climb out should she ever try this. Things we don't like: It sits lower to the ground and so we can't store the pack 'n play and other things under it. Despite costing more the mattress support isn't as nice. The bolt placement made it hard to assemble. Also, this one doesn't have a drop side. We didn't use the drop side much in the other crib so I don't think we'll miss it, but it was nice to have the option.

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{old crib, newly assembled}

{new crib, newly assembled}

Her old crib is sadly now part of the local landfill. Except for the bolts, which were painstakingly removed and sent back to the original crib company in order to receive the voucher that we will then take back to BRU to be refunded most of the cost of the new crib. The voucher should arrive in 1-2 weeks. Don't get me started.